Cox Administration Building

Date

1915-present

Location

70 North Professor Street

Architects/Collaborators

Cass Gilbert (1859-1934), New York City (architect)
George Feick, Sandusky, OH (contractor)

Style

Romanesque Revival with Renaissance Revival elements

History

Construction of the sandstone Cox Administration Building began in 1913 and was completed in 1915. It was named in memory of Jacob Dolson Cox, an Oberlin graduate, Union army general, and Ohio politician, by one of Cox’s sons, J.D. Cox. The building’s architect was Cass Gilbert of New York, who had previously designed the Finney Memorial Chapel adjacent to the site. Inside the building, there are two lunettes in honor of Cox and his wife (a daughter of Charles Finney,) which were painted by another of their sons, Kenyon Cox. The building was renovated in 1928 to expand the office space and install an elevator, and has been renovated and remodelled multiple times since. In 1940 two rooms were added to the back of the building, enclosing part of the porch. In 1949 the plaza was rebuilt. The Cox Administration Building currently houses the Office of the President, the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Secretary of the College, and the Vice President for Finance.

For additional buildings by Cass Gilbert in Oberlin, see the Allen Memorial Art Building, Allen Memorial Hospital, Finney Chapel and Bosworth Hall.

Source

Oberlin College Archives, Office of the Secretary Records (RG 5).